WR KAM SHANKS EMERGING IN TALENTED UAB WIDE RECEIVER ROTATION
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Kam Shanks has emerged as a playmaker during UAB’s spring practices.
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - April 2, 2024
Kam Shanks was ready to contribute last fall. UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said as much on Tuesday morning, soon after the Blazers finished their 12th spring practice session.
But Dilfer and the offensive coaching staff had other plans.
“We just had too many guys of his body type,” Dilfer said.
The coaches asked Shanks to wait for his chance to get on the field as a receiver. That’s not always easy to hear, especially for a player who was accustomed to being a standout on his Prattville High team. He could have sulked. He could have pouted. Instead, Dilfer said, he chose to help the team in any way he could, while working on getting better.
“One thing about Kam – and I texted him this the other night – I am so proud of how he handled last year,” Dilfer said. “How he handled it, last year, has led to this winter/spring emergence. He’s emerged as a trustable guy, a guy who can do a lot with the ball. All that happened because he handled his true freshman season like a pro. He’s been the dude his whole life, right. Then, all of the sudden he’s a scout team receiver. He’s watching, he’s getting a rep here or there, he’s returning kicks. Yet, he attacked it. He didn’t have lazy days mentally. He didn’t have lazy days physically. It launched him into this offseason.”
Shanks did get into four games as one of the team’s kickoff returners, but was able to maintain his redshirt status. He had five kickoff returns for 93 yards.
“Last year, it was kind of difficult because I was the guy in my high school,” Shanks said. “I knew I had to be patient coming in. I just waited on my time.”
He is waiting no longer. It doesn’t take long to notice that the speedy 5-foot-8, 180-pound slot receiver is a playmaker. In last Friday’s scrimmage, Shanks gathered in a short crossing pass and outraced several defenders to the end zone pylon on the opposite side. That was just one of several big plays he made in the scrimmage. Earlier in the week, Shanks had a highlight reel one-handed grab while tightly covered in the back corner of the end zone during 7-on-7 work.
“Spring practice has been going good for me,” said Shanks, who was a Liberty commit until just before signing day. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason. It’s my time to showcase my skills and show what I got.”
Competition played a big part in Shanks’ progression. UAB’s receiving corps is deep and talented.
“There’s been a lot of really good things in the spring,” Dilfer said. “I would say their playmaking ability, their buy-in, their attitude. They’re becoming a really close-knit group. We’re playing nine of them consistently. There’s really no starting lineup. All nine of them have helped each other out, understanding group production, not individual production, is what matters. They play tough, with is a core value of my receiver play. They’ve become more consistent the longer camp goes on. Early in camp, there were probably too many drops. As we’ve gone through camp, they’ve become more consistent catching the ball.”
Amare Thomas returns after contributing a team-high 53 catches as a true freshman. The rest of the rotation includes TJ Jones, Jamoi Mayes, Brandon Buckhaulter, Malachi Holt-Bennett, Corri Milliner, BJ Hawkins Jr. and Ryan Peppins. Each one has taken turns making big plays. Iverson Hooks had 10 catches for 106 yards with two touchdowns before his redshirt freshman campaign ended with a knee injury against Louisiana in the season’s third game. He will be back on the practice field, making a deep position even deeper, in fall camp.
“I think it helps a lot,” Shanks said of the deep position. “We all push each other mentally every day. We don’t care about (who gets the) reps, we just make sure we get better and hold each other accountable.”